The Lonely Cabinhttps://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/index.html Escape from the Mayhemen Sun, 14 Mar 2021 12:31:37 -0400 Sun, 14 Mar 2021 12:31:37 -0400 Spring in Quebec and Recent Reads Spring in Quebec is iffy - you get some beautiful weather followed by sub-freezing temps, wind and snow. The inevitable mid-march cold front plus snow came in last night, and is here for a few days anyway, if the forecast is to be believed.

]]>https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/spring-in-quebec-and-recent-reads.html https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/./spring-in-quebec-and-recent-reads.html Slugmax Sun, 14 Mar 2021 12:31:21 -0400 A Bit More on the 2020 Election Just a bit more on why I think Biden is going to win in tomorrow's election. In 2017, I talked a bit about Trump:

All that said, if I may be an optimist, I hope that the reaction to the Trump presidency will shake voters from their apathy and slowly move mainstream policies in a progressive direction.

I no longer think the last bit is true about progressive policies - if that is to happen in the US, it won't be under a Biden Presidency. But about apathy, I think what Trump has done is motivate independents and young people to vote against him (and even some republicans). Not necessarily for Biden, but against Trump. People who might have voted for Hillary but stayed home in 2016 are now highly motivated to vote. I think this is why we're seeing huge early vote totals in some of the battleground states, and why I think Biden will win.

]]>https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/a-bit-more-on-the-2020-election.html https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/./a-bit-more-on-the-2020-election.html Slugmax Mon, 02 Nov 2020 09:07:26 -0500 Commentary on the 2020 US Presidential Election I predict Biden will win the election. Nothing is certain, of course, but it's pretty clear that Trump and the republican establishment are worried, with their attempts to suppress votes any way they can.

If I were still living in the US, I would have voted for Bernie in the democratic primaries - not that it would have done any good. It seemed like no matter what, Biden was going to be nominated. The democratic establishment went to great lengths to protect and push Biden's nomination forward. Consider that Trump was impeached not because his regime kidnapped infants and children and tortured asylum seekers, but because he tried to smear Joe Biden.

But Biden is just a status-quo candidate for the corporatist machine that rules Washington. I suspect that wall street and the corporate lobbyists can't wait to see him in office. Trump proved impossible to control, always saying the quiet part out loud. His corruption was on full display. Biden is a savvy politician, and won't make such mistakes.

]]>https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/commentary-on-the-2020-us-presidential-election.html https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/./commentary-on-the-2020-us-presidential-election.html Slugmax Sun, 01 Nov 2020 16:21:32 -0500 Freedom If you choose not to wear a mask when around other people, because you think that this is somehow an expression of your freedom, you have fallen into a trap.

If everyone succumbs to this line of thinking, and no one wears masks, the COVID-19 virus will quickly spread. Hospital ICUs will overflow, emergency rooms will overflow, and hospital waiting rooms will overflow. Soon, people who have life-threatening injuries or medical problems will die because they can't get medical treatment fast enough.

When this happens, governments will shut down businesses and schools again, and you will be at home, in lockdown. You will not be free to visit friends or family, or go out to get your haircut or go to the park.

You will not be free.

If you choose to wear a mask when around other people, and your fellow citizens do the same, the virus won't spread as fast and the hospitals will be able to keep up. Businesses and schools can stay open. You will be able to go out and visit friends and family, or get a haircut, or go to the park. You will be free.

Wear a mask and be free.

Tags: pandemic, masks, freedom

]]>https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/freedom.html https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/./freedom.html Slugmax Sat, 08 Aug 2020 16:32:57 -0400 Return to Cynicism When the pandemic started I had a thought that perhaps it might be good in the long-term, despite being horrific in the short-term for many. Here is what I was thinking (these apply to the US and/or Canada, the two countries I have lived in, but I suspect these observations could apply to many countries):

]]>https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/return-to-cynicism.html https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/./return-to-cynicism.html Slugmax Fri, 03 Jul 2020 13:21:18 -0400 Quebec Pandemic Update Canada's PM said today that return to normalcy won't happen until there is a vaccine. This is 12-18 months away. The modeling released today also assumed smaller outbreaks over the next year after this initial one is contained. Each outbreak would require strict social distancing measures. I'm thankful for the honesty - we've heard all this before in various places, but it is nice to hear it "officially".

]]>https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/quebec-pandemic-update.html https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/./quebec-pandemic-update.html Slugmax Fri, 10 Apr 2020 13:54:30 -0400 Pandemic News Overload The past few weeks have been stressful for pretty much everyone in the world, to say the least. The Covid-19 pandemic is radically altering our lives, like it or not. My wife and I find ourselves having to take breaks from the news, obsessing over it causes physical sickness.

]]>https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/pandemic-news-overload.html https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/./pandemic-news-overload.html Slugmax Thu, 19 Mar 2020 16:18:03 -0400 In Search of a Simpler Web This site is an expression of what the web should have evolved into. It is statically generated or hand-crafted HTML with a bit of CSS. There are no cookies, there is no javascript. There are no ads and no social media buttons. Just original content, mostly text. Hyperlinks and reasonably-sized media where appropriate. Enforced HTTPS. It is readable on mobile devices and text browsers, and is simple to parse for screen readers. It loads fast in any web client.

]]>https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/in-search-of-a-simpler-web.html https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/./in-search-of-a-simpler-web.html Slugmax Tue, 18 Feb 2020 16:47:02 -0500 SDF Motd Site Archive I've had issues with my SDF motd.org site recently, the powers-that-be decided to summarily remove the python v2 packages, rendering my blog of 11 years dead. I had last generated a static copy last December, so that is what I have archived here, for posterity. The one missing post 'OTR for the Holidays' I've re-posted here with the original post date.

Sadly, any comments left by visitors can no longer be displayed, but all the posts are there and can be accessed from the left sidebar by date.

]]>https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/sdf-motd-site-archive.html https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/./sdf-motd-site-archive.html Slugmax Mon, 17 Feb 2020 16:17:23 -0500 OTR for the Holidays Happy Holidays! We're getting some snow finally after a pretty dry December. It was actually a green Christmas here, which as you can imagine is unusual for Quebec. But my wife and I have managed to get out and x-country ski a few times with what little we did get. So it hasn't been a total loss.

]]>https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/otr-for-the-holidays.html https://slugmax.tx0.org/blog/./otr-for-the-holidays.html Slugmax Mon, 30 Dec 2019 15:26:09 -0500